4 bold college football predictions for Week 9: Ohio State has major QB issues

It’s Week 9 of the college football season and if it’s anything like Week 7 or Week 8, it’s going to be a good one. We’ve seen a ton of upsets in the last two weeks, and we could see the same on Saturday, Oct. 31.

Last weekend, Texas Tech and BYU went down, ending their unbeaten runs. The Red Raiders will have another tough test this weekend, hosting No. 22 Arizona.

But that’s not the only game that could see an upset. Another potential chaos game could take place in Los Angeles. Ohio State makes the trip west to play USC. It will be the Buckeyes’ first game without Julian Sayin behind center.

Here are four bold predictions, including one each for Texas Tech and Ohio State.

MORE: Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark leaving for new job

Texas Tech suffers second straight loss

Texas Tech suffered its first loss last season at the hands of Cincinnati. The Red Raiders have not played good football this season, especially early on. Texas Tech could have a couple of losses, and despite returning home to Lubbock, that second loss could happen this weekend.

Arizona is a good team, and statistically, the Wildcats have a better offense and defense than Texas Tech. Of course, home field plays a role, but Texas Tech’s defense is a shell of what it was last season. And quarterback play means everything in the Big 12.

Will Hammond has been streaky and Thomas Castellanos is expected to see more reps for the Red Raiders. Let’s be honest, neither of those two are anywhere close to being as good as Noah Fifita. Arizona has a veteran behind center and he knows how to make winning plays.

The Red Raiders are on upset alert. Again.

Ohio State realizes it has major quarterback problems

It’s make-or-break time for both Ohio State and USC, for different reasons. The Trojans have yet to win the big game under head coach Lincoln Riley, and USC is the home team on Saturday. If he can’t beat Ohio State without its star quarterback, Riley might as well pack his bags.

The Buckeyes are used to producing quarterbacks at a high rate. And it’s possible Luke Fahey or Tavien St. Clair will be great. But it’s not an ideal time to make your first career start. When Julian Sayin exited the game two weeks ago against Indiana, the stage looked way too big for Fahey.

The three-star true freshman is in line to make his first start, but it wouldn’t be shocking to see five-star redshirt freshman St. Clair get some run. Neither is Sayin, and Ohio State has had issues running the football. If USC can get out to a lead early, Ohio State might not be equipped to make a comeback.

Dabo Swinney finds himself in same situation as Mike Norvell

It’s the ‘who might get fired first’ bowl on Saturday night. The reeling Clemson Tigers travel to take on the 3-4 Florida State Seminoles and neither team is very good. Clemson has a good defense but zero offense, and the Seminoles have a good offense with a bad defense.

Mike Norvell has been on a scorching hot seat all season. Dabo Swinney is starting to really feel the heat. His Tigers are 4-3, and a loss to Florida State would make that seat 10 times hotter.

Swinney has a big buy-out, but Clemson has been used to winning. Another poor season under Swinney might be his nail in the coffin, and things are trending that way.

Georgia hangs more than 45 points vs. Florida

Georgia is coming off a bye week and it came at a good time. The Bulldogs fell to Auburn two weeks ago, 27-24, and it was a bad game all around for Georgia. Gunner Stockton threw two interceptions and Georgia struggled to run the ball against a good Auburn front.

Now, Georgia can take out some frustration on a suspect Florida defense. The Gators have the second-worst scoring defense in the conference, along with the 13th-ranked total defense in the SEC.

The most points Georgia has scored against an SEC team was against Arkansas when the Bulldogs hung 45 points. Georgia is looking to make a statement this week against the No. 17 team in the country.

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